"Hnngh... hic... ugh..."
"It's alright. You won't die."
"Just... kill me..."
"Don't say such things."
Ivan was gently whispering as he dripped potion onto Hugo's body.
Every time the viscous cold liquid touched his body, Hugo's body twitched and small screams escaped his lips.
Ivan could understand this man's feelings perfectly. Healing Potion was one of the things most frontline soldiers hated the most. (The fact that it ranked right after rookies, seniors, commanders, generals, and enemy forces speaks volumes about its status.)
In fact, he himself had experienced being forcibly administered a Healing Potion when his arm was nearly severed.
"Just cut the arm off instead!! Arghhhh!!"
"Don't say that, Sir Petrovich. Your body is a national treasure!"
"Who treats a treasure like this?!!"
It was an experience from his younger, less skilled days. After that horrific experience, Ivan made every effort to avoid sustaining major injuries.
Healing Potion caused pain equivalent to a certain terrible drug that only emerged when digging through memories from his Kim Seon-woo days. Of course, the name of that cursed truth serum was Albochil.
Thanks to that, Ivan discovered a new value for Healing Potion during his service in the Annihilation Squad.
Healing Potion causes pain comparable to sprinkling salt on burn wounds.
But wounds are definitely healed.
Therefore, interrogation could continue while treating wounds inflicted during questioning.
It was truly sustainable interrogation. His fellow agents in the Annihilation Squad were shocked by Ivan's idea. (Sadly, this world had no Geneva Convention, so prisoners had no human rights.)
"No... no more... I don't... don't know anything... else! Really... really! So please stop..."
"You're even more useless than I expected."
"Save me... no, kill me..."
"No, you must live."
Because you're a tutorial boss.
-Drip drip.
Ivan poured more potion to silence the man and stood up.
He had learned that the criminal group behind the train bombing wore thick coats, were adult males, and had anti-recognition spells cast on their faces.
It's January now. Naturally, that means adult men are wearing thick coats this season.
He couldn't identify their nationality by speech patterns or accents. He hadn't anticipated that this fellow would be too much of a country bumpkin to distinguish such things.
A miss. Ivan clicked his tongue and surveyed his surroundings. The train was still quiet. That wasn't a bad thing.
'Princess Asidis must still be fighting.'
If Princess Asidis had been defeated, the thieves would have come pouring out of the train. After all, failing to find the gold bullion, they would have captured a noble worth a hefty ransom instead.
The fact that no one had emerged from the train yet actually proved Asidis was safe.
With that thought, Ivan rose to head toward the train.
At that moment, his Line-of-Fire Detection sent a violent warning to his brow.
His brow?
No, across his entire face.
-Whoosh—
With the sound of air being torn apart.
-CRASH—!!
A boulder flew like a shot put, sweeping through the spot where Ivan had been standing just moments ago.
Ivan quickly flung his body away, escaping the successive lines of fire. Boom, boom, boom! The boulders landed precisely where he had been.
"Come out."
Judging by the throws, this was a stronger opponent than expected.
Therefore, the assessment that the opponent also knew Line-of-Fire Detection.
Since it was clear the fight would inevitably become close combat, the opponent would have to reveal themselves anyway.
"The boss is a real monster!!"
Perhaps he'd been too dismissive of the words from a grunt who couldn't use Line-of-Fire Detection. So this fellow wasn't the boss? Then he'd just wasted precious potion.
Ivan coldly glared at the man walking toward him from a distance.
"You seem quite capable."
A middle-aged man with a solid build of tightly packed muscles approached with heavy steps, growling.
A terrible killing intent swirled around, making Ivan's entire body tingle.
"But to think you'd dare touch my nephew. You're foolish despite your skills."
Nephew, is it? His blood relative? This is getting troublesome.
Ivan clicked his tongue, holstered his gun, and gripped an axe in each hand.
"I hope you know something."
"Bullshit... Come. I'll kill you."
The man ground his teeth and raised his own axe.
In the next moment, the two men clashed.
-Whoosh-! Crack!!
Asidis gritted her teeth as she heard the sound of the violin fingerboard twisting.
"Hang in there a little longer, Kkangie!"
A violin isn't made for hitting things. Like most instruments. (Electric guitars are an exception. They are completed by smashing the stage.)
Therefore, this delicate and fragile wooden string instrument was slowly breaking apart with each swing of Asidis's arm, its front plate crumbling and fingerboard twisting.
However, Kkangie (Violin, 2nd) did not let the memories and friendship with Asidis go to waste.
Each time Kkangie was swung, something would break. Mostly adult male skulls.
"C-crazy bitch!! What the hell is she?!"
"Where's the gold bullion! Hey! What happened to the cargo car!"
"There's nothing there!! We've been tricked!"
The thieves wanted to flee. There was no gold, they'd blown up a train so the army would surely pursue them, and the crazy woman in front of them was smashing people with a violin.
Asidis also wanted to flee. She could clearly feel Kkangie's life fading with each moment, fighting was frightening, and she had no idea where she was.
-Thwack!
-Crack!
As Kkangie harvested another thief's teeth and finally reached the end of its life, Asidis clutched the remaining violin fingerboard pieces in her hand, sinking into despair.
"Kkangie... you were a wonderful instrument..."
"Crazy bitch, crazy bitch!!"
"Shouldn't we run away? This isn't the time to fight!"
"Damn it, is that woman just going to let us go?"
"Argh! Where is the boss and what is he doing?!"
Not knowing that their boss was currently caught between a muscle monster and a special operations officer, the thieves murmured and retreated hesitantly.
That was a mistake.
While 'The Slaughterer' Einar's daughter resembled her mother in many ways, she took after her father in 'rage,' 'fighting spirit,' and 'combat skills.'
For Droan warriors, comrades are like blood brothers. She couldn't let the death of her longtime comrade Kkangie (2 years old, an instrument) be in vain.
She gently stroked Kkangie's remains, then slowly straightened up.
"Kkangie, I won't forget your sacrifice. Thank you always, and I'm sorry."
"I'll hold off this crazy woman. The rest of you escape."
"Brother!!"
"Hurry! At least some of us need to survive!"
At the thief's cry, the remaining gang members all turned and began to flee. They headed toward their base camp where their boss would be, shedding small tears.
After glancing at them, the thief turned to Asidis with a resolute face once everyone else had left.
"This is a misunderstanding, miss."
"...Huh?"
"We had no idea you were on this train. But if you spare me, I'm willing to testify in court. Krasilov is a nation of law, isn't it? Please spare me!"
The thief threw down his weapon and shouted while kneeling. It was a wise move.
Because at this very moment, the fleeing thieves were sweating nervously between an enraged Huskarl and an angry Annihilation Squad officer.
"What difference will it make bringing a few more grunts?!"
"...Quite a few survivors. But it won't make any difference."
The two men, who had been fighting while burying axes in each other's bodies, shouted simultaneously as they saw thieves running out of the train.
"Asidis, what happened to the woman on that train? There should have been a young blonde woman. Is she safe?"
"My nephew!! Is my nephew safe?!"
Ivan hesitated momentarily at the man's shout.
Wasn't this man the nephew?
Ivan glanced at the man who had been knocked unconscious by shrapnel during the battle and groaned.
No wonder it seemed too difficult.
The man before him was an excessively designed boss for an early tutorial.
He'd thought it might be like a refund prevention bump in a Souls-like game, but even then, there were too many patterns. This was someone a beginner had no way of defeating.
In that case...
'In Academy Genre stories, train attacks never kill the protagonist. Because helpers appear to provide assistance.'
So this man was the helper.
And perhaps the tutorial boss battle was designed to familiarize players with many-against-one combat by defeating the escaped grunts and a mediocre boss.
Ivan sighed and put away his axe. It was badly damaged and would need to be discarded. Most weapons were consumables anyway, so it didn't matter, but it was still regrettable.
"Um, wait. Aren't you all on the same side...?"
"I don't know why you'd think that."
The man put away his weapon, following Ivan's lead, and narrowed his eyes.
"You were pouring Healing Potion on that guy."
"Hmm."
Explaining that it was an Annihilation Squad interrogation method would be excessive. And there was no way to convince him.
Ivan shrugged.
"I had things to find out."
"Tsk, you should have said that first."
You didn't give me time to explain.
As Ivan looked at the man with a sour expression, the man broke into a broad smile as he watched a woman energetically jumping out of the train.
"Nephew!! Essie!! You're safe!!"
"Eek, Uncle?!"
Ivan ignored the man running out and clicked his tongue as he glanced at the terrified thieves amid the surrounding area that looked as if a bomb had exploded.
The target was safe, and the helper had sufficient ability to protect the target until she reached St. Yansk University.
And he himself was someone who shouldn't be seen by the target. His position would be compromised if his identity was revealed, and Asidis was acquainted with him.
It was from seven years ago, and back then Asidis was just a teenager barely in her teens. But still, she might remember Ivan.
He had secured all the information he could get here. Ivan turned around and withdrew.
Einar the Berserker's eldest daughter, Asidis.
Arrived in Krasilov.
One Huskarl (presumed) dispatched as an agent from Droan.
Target safety successfully secured.
Sending an encrypted brief telegram to the Crown Prince's Palace as an urgent report, Ivan boarded a train bound for the capital.
It had been a tiring day compared to what he'd gained.
"Essie, do you remember a fellow named Ivan?"
"Mr. Ivan?! Yes! Of course!"
Asidis, who had brightened at the familiar name, soon dropped her head dejectedly.
"He was such a good person... kind and cool..."
"I'm not so sure about that, but anyway."
The man frowned as he walked.
Beneath the makeshift palanquin made from a torn train door, five or six thieves carried it, trembling with fear.
The man muttered quietly, careful not to let Asidis hear from atop the palanquin.
"I heard he died two years ago."
His fighting style had seemed familiar, and he fought just like the Krasilov special forces.
I thought it strange how comfortable he was with axes, and his axe technique was similar to Brother Einar's.
If we're talking about someone from Krasilov who learned axe techniques from Einar, there's only one person who fits.
-Reserve member Ivan Petrovich.
More precisely, 'Hero Reserve' Ivan Petrovich. One of those deemed suitable for deployment when vacancies occurred in the Hero Party.
That guy was reportedly killed during the annihilation battle that broke out after the Demon King's death, dying alongside one of the Seven Dragon Generals.
It's a shame I couldn't get a good look at his appearance due to his bushy beard, the shadowy forest, and my rage-blinded eyes.
Well, he seemed to be from the royal intelligence organization, so I'll probably meet him again while in the capital.
I'll make him shave then. The man shrugged and continued walking.
A week's journey on foot to the capital.
Two "freshmen" of St. Yansk University, beginning their train-palanquin journey!